DOG EAT DOG

A fascinating insider's account of the formation and early success of two of the world's greatest bands, AC/DC and INXS from the man who helped them on the road to international stardom.

Bon turned up with two bottles of bourbon, some dope and some speed. When Angus saw this stash, he said to Malcolm, 'If this guy can walk, let alone sing, it's going to be something.' Michael Browning first spotted AC/DC in September 1974. They were raw and rough, and much of the crowd, Michael included, was bewildered by the flashy guitarist dressed as a school kid. But Michael knew they had something - a blistering sound, killer songs and a wildly charismatic stage presence. Within a week he'd signed them to a management contract and duly embarked on a shared journey that within five years would take them to international prominence. A young street kid with an uncanny ear for music, Michael had kicked off his career in the swinging clubs that made Melbourne the most happening place in Australia in the '60s. He'd also been at the forefront of 'pub rock' in the early '70s, booking acts like The Loved Ones and Max Merritt and the Meteors, and managing the massive band, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. And then AC/DC swept all before them. Here is the only insider account of those amazing years by the man who helped guide AC/DC to the top. In the '80s Michael did it again, signing an up-and-coming band called INXS to his label Deluxe Records and setting them on the course to superstardom. Dog Eat Dog is the story of one of the true believers of the Australian music industry, the man who helped the country's two biggest bands achieve world domination...and lived to tell the tale. Michael Browning was running Melbourne's Hard Rock Cafe when he first encountered a struggling AC/DC in 1974. When he and the band parted ways five years later, they were on the brink of global domination. Prior to that, Michael managed such local stars as Billy Thorpe and Doug Parkinson, and helped set up trailblazing Melbourne club Sebastian's at a time when the British Merseybeat invasion and the rise of local groups were reshaping the Australian musical landscape. He and Michael Gudinski then established Consolidated Rock, Australia's leading booking agency of the day. After a stint in the USA in the early 1980s, Michael returned to Australia, where he launched Deluxe Records, in the process discovering and developing INXS, whom he signed to the label. Further down the line Michael managed Noiseworks, as they rocketed to the top of the Australian charts. Michael and his family live in Sydney. Dog Eat Dog is his first book.